


ephemeral

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, U get it, donghyuck is not human, from donghyuck pov, mark is human
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25323301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Donghyuck is the last of his kind and he has been alone for many years. Terrified of humans, he meets mark, a human, in the worst of ways, but he can tell mark has no intent to kill.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i posted this fic years ago but it wasn’t great and i deleted it at 2 chapters so here it is revised and i gonna post a lot more than 2 chapters lol i hope you enjoy <3

He sat with his hands cradling the small forest weeds gently. He didn't sleep well last night, nor does he ever anymore, but he's learn to cope with it. He doesn't do much, so sleep isn't exactly a necessity really. He watched the weeds as he plucked them slowly. He had a dream last night, and it's been a while since he dreamt. Sadly, he couldn't remember what exactly had happened in said dream, but that's okay. He was satisfied with the fact that he remembered there were other people in his dream. People who weren't him. People who were human. It made him smile to know that he somewhat remembered all the variations that humans could come in. In fact, he believed this was the first dream he's ever had with humans in it, at least that he could remember. Sure, he used to dream a lot but it was always with animals or others of his kind. He missed being able to communicate with other living beings capable of understanding his speech. He missed being able to read the feelings of humans, and he missed when they allowed all their feelings to show through their eyes. But at the same time, he wasn't allowed to miss them. He wouldn't let himself.

He clenched the grass in his hands. His eyes drifted towards the dirt that had dug itself under his nails. He never took the time to clean them because unlike humans, he loved being close to the earth. There was a small patch in front of him where he pulled out all the weeds and only fresh untouched dirt was left. It must've rained he thought to himself as he held some of the dirt in his hands. It was rich and full of worms who found their home deep within. He slept for a couple of days before this, so he concluded that he must’ve slept through the rain. He doesn’t keep track of time anymore, he hadn’t since the last time he saw a human. His kind didn’t care too much for time. After another minute he put the weeds back down and covered the patch back, laying them flat and neat so that it looked nice. He didn’t know why he didn’t that. Whether it was his way of saying sorry to the weeds he had killed, or if he was trying to cover his tracks from something. He slowly rose from his seated position, pushing his wing to fall behind him. A bird flew out of a tree in the distance and he cocked his head towards the birds direction, and decided to follow its trail. He walked around for a while. As he got closer and closer to parts of the forest he had not yet explored, his skin turned flat, his few scales sinking into his skin, and one color. The horns that wrapped his head faded away, and he brought his wings in close to his back and they began to fade away also. He did this when he was unsure of anything, terrified of what could come from his real form being revealed. After some thought, he hesitantly decided to explore new parts of the forest. He only stayed within the same acre of forest that he was comfortable with. He knew there was a flower patch not to far from where he stood, and he thought what's the harm in seeing flowers. Why should he stay in his area for so long? What if humankind had learn to love the Primith again and they became cute bedtime story characters? Sadly, he's sure that would never be true, because there were none left to prove that they are not out to kill.

As he walked through the sticks and leaves of the forest, he began humming out of joy. He got excited easily and it had been so long since he went somewhere new. He was excited to see new flowers he hadn't picked, and maybe even new flowers he had never seen before. He felt like a kid thinking like that, but it doesn't matter since the likelihood of anyone seeing him is slim. He stopped. No one will ever see me. This was a thought that crossed his mind every so often and reminded him of his loneliness, but he decided to shake it off and move on. He continued skipping to the flowers. He only knew there were flowers because if he stands on the tippy top of a certain rock, he can see above his area, and a while ago he saw a patch of flowers. A while ago as in 50 years, but he is hoping for the best. He slows down suddenly, digging his unclothed heels into the earth. He's probably hundreds of feet away from the patch, but he couldn't bring himself to take another step. His lips fell apart and his eyes fluttered open wide. His humming abruptly stopped and the scales that he let slip out of his disguise went back into hiding. Quickly, he rushed behind the nearest tree, holding his arms against his chest, and his forehead to the trunk. His squeezed his eyes shut and went dead silent. He felt a pounding against his head and after a while he put his hands to his temples and whispered to himself, "shut up, shut up." He felt something. He felt another presence. It wasn’t the usual deer or squirrel he befriended. He felt said presence's uplifting emotion and he felt the cheery squeals of excitement. He couldn't take it. It was such a perfect day, why, out of all days, did this day have to be the one. His breathe began to quicken and he knew he had to run. He began to back up from the tree he stood behind, looking around to make sure the unknown presence couldn’t see him. Once he saw nothing but trees and grass he turned and took three quick steps, letting the last one bring his wings back out and let’s them carry him to the place he had stayed for most of the years of his life. His tiny meadow in between the saddest excuses for hills. He felt every wind that brushed past him, and every stick that dragged against his skin, leaving scrapes. As he flew towards his home his wings were restricted by the closeness of the trees so he would periodically put his feet down to help push his forward faster. He stopped silently as he watched the rough forest ground fade into his well-known meadow grass that raised to his scraped ankles. His hair was disheveled and his legs, arms and wings scratched. He stood there and listened to the sound of his breath. All he could think about was the feeling of another. He felt overwhelmed. How could he dream of humans and come far too close to encountering a human in the same day. He had hundreds of days filled with nothing but forced self entertainment and his own thoughts. His mind was spinning and he wanted to scream, but that would be stupid.

"What if they saw me?" He asked himself aloud, still leaving himself in the state of untidy as he sat himself in the grass. Suddenly, his eyes swelled with tears and he was burdened with an unhealthy amount of stress. He hated when he got like that. Obviously, he had no one to help him through these times, so he attempted to shelter himself. He let his natural self fade back in, which lifted somewhat of a weight off his shoulders, but not the one he wished was lifted. He sat quietly with a vacant stare and tears streaming down his cheeks. I'm going to die without ever having a friend. They are going to kill me. His tears came down harder and he felt himself crumbling in that spot. He put his hands against his horns and he just cried. He didn't know what else to do, if he could've done anything. Why was he the last Primith alive? That's a lot of stress to put on a one boy.

A few years later, not a day passing by where Donghyuck did not think of that day, he persuaded himself into trusting his disguise once again. Maybe, he could walk all the way to the flower patch today. It had been a while since that day. Even if the being that had been near him that day had seen him, they wouldn't have know he was a Primith unless they saw his eyes. He sat with the tail of his wing in his lap and his hands pressed against his horns. It's been about 7 years and a few months since that day, yet it still scares him every day. Ive been keeping track of the time he thought to himself, taking note of that. Over the years, he has had a couple dreams. Both were nightmares. He died in both. In the first one, he was in an unknown place, and his horns were ripped from him and then he was beheaded, which is the most likely cause of his death. They second one hit him a little harder though. In the second one, it was him, standing in his meadow in spring. Flowers had finally bloomed from around his feet and the breeze was temperate. His safe spot. His home. He watched as the trees around him were burned and everything went up in flames just as it did hundreds of years ago. Luckily, he woke up before he witnessed himself die. He went over the possibilities in his head, in which he only had two options, "the being is there, or not." After an hour of shifting awkwardly in the grass, trying to think, he decided on going. He didn't have much to enjoy himself with anymore, so he would have to see the flowers or else he would die from boredom. Death either way he joked with a nervous laugh. He stood up boldly, holding a handful of grass in his hand. "I'm going to see the flowers," he announced out loud to no one. Slowly, he looked to his hand full of grass, and he sighed, knowing there is always the chance he may never return to his meadow. He shoved the grass deep into the pockets of his worn of shorts, and started off. His bare feet didn't mind the sticks he crossed, since he walked on them almost every day. He dragged his fingers along the trees as he walked rather slowly. The patch was far, but he didn't mind one bit. He saw rabbits and squirrels pass his path as he walked, which made him smile. 

he got closer.

then he felt it again.

the exact same presence with the uplifting emotions as years before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the dreaded meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhhhhhfff short chapter but the rest will be longer woo!

He wanted to turn around and run. He didn't want to face a creature he hasn't seen in hundreds of years. He's waited for so long, and thought for so long, yet he still felt unready and unprepared to face the unknown. Slowly and hesitantly, he took a step towards the unknown feeling that had gotten slightly closer to him as he stood and thought. He felt stupid. He felt like he was asking for death. But, he continued forward. A second step. He held in his natural self as tight as he could, not wanting even one scale to show. He kept his eyes low in the shade of his forehead. He took four more steps, each with increasing confidence. He felt a pang of excitement enter his heart even through all the fear. He lifted his head a little after he head another rustle in the grass. Ahead he saw a more open area where the sun was showing through the dense trees. The few steps he had taken halted. He stared at the opening, the fear he had felt before coming back into light. Suddenly, he noticed a couple feet beyond the opening was a figure. Deer, it’s just a deer he so desperately tried to convince himself. But, he knew it wasn’t. He would never admit to the reckless behavior that ensued. His feet began to carry him forward through the trees all the way to the edge of the opening. He is careful to not make a sound, only walking on his toes very gently. He could make out the figure, but he didn’t care anymore. I’ve already come so far who am i to turn back now.   
He felt his lips curl into a meager smile, which he also ignored. He ignored the fear. The excitement of seeing a human had taken over.He placed his left foot forward into the opening.

All at once, he felt a pain in his right shoulder and he felt his disguise slowly wither away. He looked straight ahead for a moment as blood quickly trickled out and he let the pain sink in. It hurt more than almost anything. He had been hurt worse than this before but it had never been like this. His existence depended on this encounter. Tears freely flew down his cheeks as he looked back up. I knew it. How could I be so selfish.

"Score! That’ll show Taeyong, thinking i can’t get a rabbit," another voice softly congratulated himself as he took steps towards Donghyuck. Rabbit. Quickly, Donghyuck stepped back behind a tree and pulled his wings in quickly, causing him to move his shoulder. He cried out loudly in pain at the action, quickly covering his mouth with his left hand. "Fuck," he heard the other stop. Donghyuck started silently, tears running down his cheeks behind the tree. He stood there in so much pain, yet he had to try to bring himself back into his familiar human form. The scales he had let loose faded back into his human-like skin tone. He wanted to scream and panic. He wanted to run, but he knew the other would follow. He couldn't stop his tears as they slipped out his eyes and on to his hand that held his mouth. "H... hello?" The whisper came from the other side of the tree. Donghyuck sucked up the pain quickly, still crying but no longer letting out the whimpers he did. He looked human aside from his eyes. Perhaps he would be okay. He knew the human on the other side didn’t mean to harm him. He took a step back and balled his left hand into a fist, forcing his pain down his throat, and lastly forcing his horns into hiding. It hurt. It hurt him so much. Using any power hurt, so that on top of his shoulder was putting him through hell. After a second of his shaky breathing, he looked to his shoulder, noticing the wood carvings on the arrow that dig into his skin. He couldn't help it this time. He just screamed. He had to. Seeing the wound and the cause of his pain made it worse, made it real. He had to do anything to distract himself from the pain so he didn't turn back to his natural state. He focused of keeping his real form hidden. He heard the boy take a careful step from across the tree. He let out a sigh and slowly lifted his hand to his shoulder. Without saying anything, or even making a noise, he pulled the arrow out. He heard the other cry in disgust at the dreaded noise the arrow made as it came out of his flesh. He dropped the arrow to the ground, before his vision began to become blurry. He saw a light haired figure come out from behind his hiding, and watched as the figure stepped closer. His head was cloudy and he didn't have enough strength to run even though he wanted to so bad. The light haired figured stepped even closer.

"Please don’t ," he whispered before his eyes shut and he fainted from pain mixed with fear.


End file.
